This property has a documented history as a dry cleaning facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could help fund the multi-phase investigation and remediation work ahead under Wisconsin DNR oversight.
This property operated as a dry-cleaning facility for decades before 1986, using tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) as cleaning solvents, with a 1992 Wisconsin DNR notification confirming historic contamination at the site. PCE concentrations in source-area monitoring wells have reached 1,300 to 2,000 micrograms per liter — up to 400 times the NR 140 enforcement standard — and contaminated soil was excavated from beneath the former dry-cleaner building in 1997. The chlorinated solvent plume has migrated off-site, impacting groundwater at adjacent commercial properties and extending more than 740 feet downgradient, with monitoring wells on nearby parcels still showing PCE levels well above the enforcement standard as of 2019 and vapor action levels exceeded as recently as January 2024. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible
Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Wisconsin — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.
Dry-cleaning operations using PCE and TCE solvents at this property spanned decades before 1986, placing the contaminating activity firmly within the pre-1986 window. The extensive ongoing groundwater monitoring, vapor intrusion assessment, and remediation work required to address a plume affecting multiple off-site properties represent future costs that those historical carriers may be obligated to fund.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.